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Time Out
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The Room Where it Happens
'Rose, for many people this is their idea of Hell,' wrote my editor, his message flashing up obnoxiously on my phone. I smirked, and prepared to unleash my best Liza Minnelli vibrato along with 50 other delirious musical theatre fans. I don't take back a word of the message I sent my editor that evening: 'This is the best night of my life'. Okay, maybe not the best (my wife made me write that) – but pretty goddamn close. And if you, like me, love showtunes, cocktails, and arguing over whether Idina or Cynthia hit those 'Defying Gravity' high notes best, then you need to make your West End debut here ASAP. Named after a banger from Hamilton, The Room Where It Happens is inspired by New York's famous Marie's Crisis Café. The concept is simple and glorious: from 5pm, 'resting' professional musical theatre performers work as singer-servers, oscillating between taking orders and casually blasting diners with Sondheim, Lloyd Webber and Kander and Ebb's finest. Guests can scan QR codes to request songs (in exchange for tips), and everyone is very much encouraged to sing along. Then at 9pm, the pianist continues playing for those who can't yet call it curtains. TRWIT sits at the top of a Soho townhouse once frequented by Oscar Wilde. It's a shamelessly theatrical space; flickering fake candles illuminate a gilded gold ceiling; a camp red curtain drapes across the back wall and West End show posters hang proudly above cabaret-style tables. On my visit, eager musical fans of all ages gathered around the long black bar, behind which a long-haired, bespeckled guy played the piano. He was joined by the host for the evening; a bright-eyed, sparkly-jacketed woman clutching a wireless microphone, announcing the songs and hyping up the performers. Let's be real: this place knows you're here for the tunes. There's nothing truly groundbreaking about the food and drink menus, and yet a great deal of care has gone behind the pleasingly themed 'Musical Mainstays' cocktail list. The appropriately American 'The Judy' (bourbon, cinnamon roll syrup, apple juice) is a boozy highlight, as is the sweet 'The Bernadette' (Disaronno, citron vodka and maraschino cherries). You'll also get serious bang from your buck with the two-for-one happy hour on basic cocktails until 8pm. And to eat? You could do bar snacks or go for a full multi-course feast from a globally inspired menu, the standard of which I would describe as 'decent wedding fare'. The fresh and zingy Asian papaya salad, doused in a delicious tamarind and lime sauce, is a highlight, and the sirloin steak with fries and greens hits the spot. (The bland, plant-based shepherd's pie not so much, sorry vegans). The service could have been slicker – but who really cares when your waiter suddenly unveils pipes to rival those of Julie Andrews? My editor was right: if you're not into this stuff, then none of it makes sense. In fact, I'd say, avoid this place with the fervor of Jean Valjean evading Javert. But if you love musical theatre, it's truly the stuff of dreams. Like all the best shows, The Room Where It Happens knows how to build to a dizzying crescendo. The mild sense of hysteria in the room began to grow as the night wore on; hen parties shout-singing The Greatest Showman. Couples swooning over Disney ballads. Prosecco-fuelled girls and gays nailing every Six lyric. I don't know when we all decided to stand up; it could've been when an original cast member of the West End Hamilton appeared, as if by magic, to perform 'My Shot'. It could've been the group singalong to 'One Day More' from Les Mis. But what I do know is that for those final few songs, it was as if we were all part of one rapturous West End chorus. And it felt incredible. Order this
The National
30-01-2025
- Climate
- The National
Brandon Robinson Thompson just misses historic 59 after last-hole bogey in stunning opening round in Bahrain
With LIV Golf taking a starry field to India, plus Rory McIlroy and many of the rest of the sport's most gilded names heading for Pebble Beach, the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship is battling for airtime this week. And yet for the majority of Thursday morning it appeared as though a journeyman from the Isle of Wight was going to grab all the limelight on the fairways of the Royal Golf Club in Riffa. The DP World Tour – formerly the European Tour – is in its 53rd year. More than 10,200 players have played on it. Only once has any of them ever broken 60. Oliver Fisher became the first to shoot 59 in the tour's history, back in 2018. And, because of a bogey at the final hole of the opening round in Bahrain for Brandon Robinson-Thompson, he remains the only man to do it. Robinson Thompson acknowledged he was aware history could be beckoning from the ninth hole onwards. By that stage, he had made just 29 blows and had two eagles on his card. With just the par-4 18th to play, he was on 12-under par. The adrenalin was clearly pulsing as he chased the birdie he needed for history, as he proceeded to push his drive into the waste ground to the left of the fairway. He had hit 16 of the 17 previous greens in regulation, but his approach to the last went long into the rough. It took him three to get down from there, meaning he signed for a 61. No mean feat, and good enough for a three-stroke lead at the end of the day. But, still, he acknowledged it was tinged with a little feeling of what might have been. 'I didn't really picture it this morning when it was raining and there were forecasts of super-strong winds,' Robinson Thompson said. 'I'm very happy to get off to the start I did. [There is a] little bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but I holed my fair share. 'It was just an accumulation of a lot of good decision-making and execution. I wouldn't say it was perfect by a long way, but I was smart when I had to be and I hit a couple of shots to 25, 30, 35 feet. Luckily, I made a couple of those.' The majority of Robinson Thompson's career to date has been played in professional golf's margins, including stints on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and the Mena Tour. The 32-year-old Englishman is probably not used to having his every moved tracked, but his back nine was suddenly under the scanner as '59-watch' gripped. The broadcasters were in place to see his putt at the 16th, which would have given him a fifth successive birdie, lip out. 'It looked in the whole way,' he said. 'I can't complain. Walking off the green one of the cameramen said, 'That was an opportunity, just make the next one'. Then I made a 40-footer on the next hole. Shout out to the camera guy. 'I think it's my lowest round as a professional, let alone on the DP World Tour. It has to be up there with a Sunday to close out a Challenge Tour event last year. 'I know it's the first round but 61, that's up there. Everyone keeps saying [it's tough to follow a low round] but I'll just keep doing the same stuff.' The chasing pack contains some other players who have also had a good look around during their careers. Callum Tarren, who shot an eight-under 64 and is in second place, likened the Royal Golf Club's 'crazy greens' to his time playing in China. The 34-year-old Englishman says he is trying to consolidate his career after a tough time in the United States last year. At one point in 2024, he missed the cut in seven tournaments out of eight on the PGA Tour. 'Last season wasn't great for me, I had a pretty poor year,' Tarren said. 'Having status out here from the PGA Tour last year was like a bonus. 'I'm just trying to take advantage of the starts I get and get back. It's going to be windy tomorrow, the wind picked up considerably towards the end.' Local golfers reckon the main defence the course has against tour pros is the weather, which is usually blustery. The course was designed by Colin Montgomerie in 2008, and it has plenty of quirks. The layout is adjacent to a water treatment plant, and there are earthworks within the perimeter of the course. The plot is split almost exactly in half by pipes running over ground. At points where the course skirts the neighbouring villas, there are signs saying 'no resident buggies' are permitted. Presumably that is lest they get mistaken for the fleet of club buggies that are in action during the competition. That includes at a number of points where volunteers are employed to ferry the players from one green to the next tee box. Given the large spaces between many of the holes, the walk is a lot longer than the 7,302 yards the course itself plays. According to Richie Ramsay, whose six-under 66 was good enough for a share of third, the wind provides the biggest test. 'There are some accessible pins out there, the fairways are a bit wider and the rough isn't as thick as in previous years, but the wind isn't easy,' Ramsay said. 'It gusts at points out there and the greens can be slopey, so, if you get on the wrong side of them in the wind, it can be quite tricky.'
